Tag Archives: Gino Lohse

LEGO all-stars bring Edo-era Japan to life in LEGO in epic collab

Each year the RogueBricks community, home to many of Europe’s most accomplished LEGO builders, comes together for a collaborative build. This year’s endeavor is an immersive recreation of the Japanese city of Kumamoto during the Edo Period built atop a whopping 170 base plates (that’s 2.5 x 4.3 meters!). The massive diorama depicts the coastal city in autumn and is packed with details of life during the Tokugawa shogunate, including scenes telling the story of the famous samurai Miyamoto Musashi.

Rogue Ronin – A RogueBricks Collaboration

Attendees were treated to motorized elements and integrated lighting, as well as informative plaques describing the history captured in bricks. As a bonus easter egg for young visitors, 10 Ninjago charaters were hidden in the build. Like 2023’s Rogue Odyssey collaboration, the project took home first prize for collaborations from both jury and audience. We’ve highlighted several contributions in recent weeks, but only now can we share the complete build thanks to Hannes Tscharner. Extended highlights and builder credits follow.

Read on for a full tour of this tour de force!

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Gotta cast them spells, Pokémon!

Mainline Pokémon games are iconic RPGs with all of the stats, XP, and leveling up you expect from the genre, so fusing Pocket Monsters with D&D is a perfect fit! That’s just what builders Dan Ko and Gino Loshe teamed up to prove with this character collaboration called Dungeons & Pocket Monsters. Dan was responsible for giving Pikachu and Bulbasaur their mage makeovers, while Gino tackled Squirtle and Charmander. Created for the Brickscalibur competition “Elemental Emergency” category, each character wields a different flavor of magic matching their Pokémon type. Even more impressive, each sports a different type of wizard cap! Join them as they travel across the land seeking the power that’s inside.

Dungeons & Pocket Monsters

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Introduce a little LEGO anarchy

Prepare to be unsettled as one of cinema’s greatest villains gazes up at you in LEGO form. In “Why So Serious,” Gino Lohse uses an assortment of plates and tiles to convey the cold insanity of the Joker’s visage. One of the MVPs of the portrait is the humble 1×1 curved brick, a few of which stand in for his smudged makeup. A few more contribute to the messy red of his iconic smile. Beyond that, a snarl of foilage elements brings just the right amount of chaos to his green hair, while vent elements make a suggestion of scars. You wanna know how he got those scars? Best if you don’t ask.

Why So Serious

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Look and see her, how she sparkles, it’s the Brick Unicorn

’80s animated film The Last Unicorn is a true gem. Like the best fantasy films of that era, it can be scary, sad, romantic, and haunting in a way that kid flicks since rarely aspire to. Also, the theme song slaps. One fan caught under the film’s spell is LEGO builder Gino Lohse who pays tribute with a mesmerizing triptych poster. The central panel mirrors the original movie poster with the terrifying red bull menacing the eponymous unicorn. I’m impressed by Gino’s use of bold colors, layered plates, and flame shafts to create the burning intensity of the bull. And the typography of the title perfectly matches the iconic font.

The Last Unicorn Movie Poster

The ensemble of characters on the left is equally accomplished, especially King Haggard with those piercing blue eyes and wispy hair made from feathers. The castle on the right looks simpler at first glance, but features some very clever use of negative space to create the winding road. With its sophisticated layering, creative mix of elements, and artful framing, Gino’s model continues the trend of LEGO art pieces like the Gotham City Skyline of blending 2D and 3D to stunning effect.

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A castle chained to the sky

I’m not familiar with the Deepgate Codex fantasy series, but after seeing this captivating floating castle built of LEGO by I think I might have to check it out, because this microscale structure has my imagination running. It’s a simple build but no less effective at evoking the feeling of precarious city perched atop a magic rock and chained in place. A few carefully placed studs make for great windows on the buildings, while the rock-texture slope gets put to good use giving added dimension to the chunk of earth without looking forced.

Deepgate

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See the turtle of enormous girth, on his shell he holds the Earth...

Giant turtles appear throughout works of fiction: Discworld, The Dark Tower, and The Neverending Story to name a few. Here, Gino Lohse realises one of these beasts in LEGO form. The castle, itself a great micro build, sits proudly atop the colossal reptile as it makes its way through the forest. The subtle detailing through grill pieces as crenels demonstrates some exceptional part usage here, as do the binocular window and minifigure-hand flags. But its “vehicle” is a great build too! I love how the brown colour of the shell gives way to a grey rocky outcrop ensconcing the fortification. Both the creature and its payload blend so well into the forest that they traverse.

Rock Turtle

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A forbidden love that transcends terrain

Alas and alack! This poor LEGO centaur by Gino Lohse has fallen head-over-hooves for a mermaid. And though his love may never be, this is still one heck of a character build! The shaping of the centaur’s torso is perfect. The expert use of curved slopes with some excellent parts usage for eyebrows, collarbones, and abs really sets this creature apart. But the scenery at this shore provides a perfect atmosphere for unrequited love. A solitary tree with a superb studs-out trunk design sprouts from a crag. And there’s the pile of washed up shells from which our lonesome centaur has pulled a memento. The scene is complete with the thought bubble holding a minifig representation of cryptozoological desire.

Centaur

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And you thought stepping on them was painful

Most of us have a few brick separators lying around, but Gino Lohse takes things a step further by building a human-scale chainsaw that seems ready to take apart just about anything. Built for Iron Forge‘s April Tools monthly challenge, this 1:1 scale wonder isn’t based on a specific real-world inspiration. I think that makes it all the cooler, as there’s no question that this could be something you’d find on the shelves of a LEGO-universe hardware store. My favorite details are the modified 1×1 pate with clip/cheese slope teeth on the chain, the tires forming the handles, and the pull-cord starter.  The photography deserves some recognition, too, as this is one model that really benefits from a “lifestyle” setting.

Chainsaw

Cool additional fact: We learned about Gino’s creation on our Discord server. Head on over and join the discussion with fellow Brothers Brick fans! Or maybe seek some inspiration from other featured Iron Forge creations.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.